Prep Time:

1 hr

Total Time:

6 hrs 30 mins

Yield:

6 to 8 Serves

To make sure your turkey is moist and juicy, use our technique for roasting a turkey in parchment paper. It's a clever twist on the classic French technique en papillote, cooking food in a parchment packet in the oven. There’s no need to baste because the parchment paper bag you create around the turkey locks in flavor and moisture while it steams. Then, turn up the oven and remove the parchment paper to finish cooking the turkey in a more traditional fashion, giving it golden brown crispy skin. Since this method produces plenty of pan drippings for gravy, it's a winner for your Thanksgiving dinner.

Cooking a Larger Turkey in Parchment

If your turkey is larger than the 14-pounder called for in the recipe you can still use the parchment method:

Increase the length of parchment sheets so you have enough to come up and over the turkey, and to crimp and staple.
Increase cooking time to 10 minutes more per pound before removing the parchment. Begin checking the temperature 30 minutes after removing parchment.

Ingredients

1 14-pound turkey (reserve neck and heart to make Easy Turkey Stock)
10 cups favorite stuffing or Sausage Pear Stuffing
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
Simple Turkey Gravy

Directions

Preheat oven and prep turkey:

Let turkey stand at room temperature 1 hour. Preheat oven to 325°F with rack in lower third. Pat turkey dry with paper towels.
Stuff turkey:

Fill body cavity with about 6 cups stuffing. Fill neck cavity; capacity varies, requires 11/2-4 cups stuffing. Secure skin flaps with toothpicks or skewers. Spread 6 tablespoons butter over top of turkey, then season generously with salt and pepper. Tie drumsticks together with kitchen twine. Tuck wings under turkey.

If there is any remaining stuffing after the turkey cavity and neck are filled, bake it separately.
Butter parchment and wrap turkey:

Place a 40-inch sheet of parchment on a work surface and spread with remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Place turkey on top, with a short side of bird facing you. Gather ends, wrapping turkey. Fold overlapping ends of parchment over turkey and secure with staples. Place a 48-inch sheet of parchment on work surface, place turkey on top, and rotate 90 degrees. Fold short parchment sides over turkey and secure with staples. Rotate bird another 90 degrees and repeat process with another 40-inch sheet of parchment. Secure all paper flaps with staples.
Place turkey on rack in roasting pan and roast:

Place turkey in parchment on a flat rack set inside a roasting pan. Roast turkey 2 hours, 45 minutes.

Be sure to use a flat roasting rack not a V-shaped one for this turkey.
Remove parchment and continue roasting:

Remove from oven; cut open parchment with scissors. Increase oven temperature to 425°F. While holding drumsticks, slide parchment out from under turkey and discard. Return turkey to oven. Continue to roast turkey until golden brown and a thermometer inserted in breast reads 165 degrees, about 45 minutes more.
Rest turkey:

Transfer turkey to a carving board and let rest at least 45 minutes and up to 1 hour before carving.
Remove stuffing from cavities and bake; make gravy:

Meanwhile, remove stuffing from both cavities; transfer to an 8-inch-square baking dish and bake until thermometer inserted in center of stuffing reads at least 165°F, 15 to 20 minutes. Using drippings in pan, make turkey gravy.